


Fool's Gold

by 8Cyborg, TheWriterValkyrie



Series: Saga of Steel [5]
Category: Warframe
Genre: Alad's trying his best ok, Amputation, Apperance of small Alad, Betrayal, Body Horror, Body Modification, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, Existential Crisis, Friendship, Gen, Hunhow says the wackiest things, INTERNAL SCREAMING, Kidnapping, Loss of Limbs, Oberon and Excalibur are the only ones who have their shit together, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV First Person, Redemption, Regret, Space Mom has Good Ideas, Welcome to Fortuna everything sucks here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:02:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28963614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/8Cyborg/pseuds/8Cyborg, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWriterValkyrie/pseuds/TheWriterValkyrie
Summary: The turbulent tale of our favorite Corpus screwball and how the Lotus got him under her wings.Alad, the System's most infamous (and disliked) purveyor of science is down on his luck, to say the least, and Lotus decides this is the perfect time to get him out of her hair for good by dragging him to her side. Nobody likes it, but this formerly Infested Corpus has more to him than just robotics and greed, and maybe, just maybe, the Lotus had the right idea.Chapter 4, No Legs to Stand On
Series: Saga of Steel [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1743274
Comments: 12
Kudos: 19





	1. Prologue: Dead Eyed Fortuna

The boy was alone, but then, he was used to it. He’d been that way for as long as he remembered, and it didn’t look like that would change. Ever. He curled up a bit tighter, pressing himself into a corner of the lift as much as he could. It’s not like he was doing anything wrong, really, and even if he was, he wouldn’t get so much as a glance. He just wanted to look.

The old, slow lift shuddered to a stop, and Alad looked up with tired silver eyes, running his hands over arms tattooed with thick black lines all the way, trying to warm up. It was absolutely frigid, but he was determined to tough it out. The door finally slid open, and he stepped outside cautiously.

The white of the glittering snow was almost blinding. He blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes, and walking to the very edge of the metal platform, nudging the fresh snow with the toe of his boot. It was denser than he expected it to be, but still light, and soon he was taking a few more steps into it, sinking up to mid-calf. A smile tugged at his mouth as he watched his breath turn to mist. Sure, it was freezing, but as far he could remember, this was the first time he’d ever been outside of Fortuna.

It was over all too soon however, as the chill settled in his bones and he reluctantly forced himself to go back, his head constantly swiveling around to look at the pristine coat of snow. He settled himself back in the corner, bare limbs prickling from the cold. It was a foolhardy thing to do; he had no gear for the outside, and he could’ve lost a limb to frostbite, or worse.

It had been worth it, though. To just feel something for a few moments, other than blank apathy, even if he had to go back to being invisible in less than five minutes. It was something, at least. Something he could cling to when loneliness clutched his heart in a vise, squeezed with cruel, icy fingers and dug its nails in. 

Sometimes, something that small was enough.


	2. Worth Your Weight in Sand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sand isn't worth anything but heat and pressure can press it into something valuable

Michi leaned against the doorway, watching Alad work. He’d been writing for the better part of the day, without pausing for a break. It was either something very important, or something he’d been procrastinating for long enough that he felt guilty. 

She crept forward, close enough to see his reflection on the screen. He was biting his lower lip, his brow furrowed in concentration. Honestly? It was kind of adorable, and it also put him in the perfect position to have the daylights scared out of him.

After all, why not?

She waited until he finished a line, then pounced on him, wrapping her arms around his neck, and he let out a rather unmasculine shriek that came close to rivaling her own voice. He quickly whipped around.

“Michi, what in the name of the dear, beloved Space Mother was  _ that  _ for?” he asked, turning around to give her the dirtiest look he could.

She was doubled over, shaking and holding her sides. “I didn’t know you could screech like that! Did I scare you that badly?”

He glowered at her. “Michi, I’m doing important work. You can watch if you like, but please don’t do  _ that _ again.” 

“Fine, spoilsport.” she plunked herself down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. “So, whatcha doing?” she asked, giving him kitten eyes that Galatea could learn a thing or two from.

Dammit, but that woman knew exactly how to melt him. “I’m writing a memoir. Well...sort of.”

Michi blinked, surprised. “What do you mean, sort of? Either you are, or you aren’t.” 

“I’m more just writing it to get it out of my system, not to show it off or anything.” he said quickly. “I don’t know anyone who’d even want to read it, aside from you, maybe.”

“Could write it for your kids someday.” she said, giving him a cheeky little smile.

He blushed furiously. “I mean...you know...they might as well know where I came from, right?” 

Michi simply smiled and nodded, patting him on the back. Alad bent back over his work, secretly happy that she was here. This was harder than he’d anticipated.

“Oh yeah, I forgot the Lotus just yoinked you.” She laughed. “How did it go, again?”

Alad smiled. “Well…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<>{◇}<>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Being slung under the arm of a Warframe like a sack of potatoes is an interesting experience, to say the least. I can’t say I recommend it, though. Those walking tin cans don’t know their own strength, they’ll squish you without a second thought, and they really don’t care about jostling you around. As you can imagine, I wasn’t exactly thrilled to find myself tucked under Oberon’s arm like a chunk of ferrite, but a rather common theme throughout this whole grand fiasco is me not really ever getting what I want.

Buckle in, because there’s a whole lot more where that came from.

Then again, it was somewhat more...how do I put this... _ engaging  _ than sitting in bed and screaming into the uncaring void while feeling pain in limbs I didn’t have anymore.

Yes, I still have  _ that _ . Shut up. 

“Great, we’ve got him, now can we drop him off of a balcony?” Valkyr asked from somewhere behind my captor, sending shivers up my spine. For all I knew, she was still itching to rip me apart, as if once hadn’t been enough.

“No, and don’t you even think about trying it,” came the reply. “We’ve got to get him back to Larunda. Lotus says we need him, and I’m not going to question her, because at this point I’m sick of dealing with him. Maybe if he’s with us he’ll be less of a pain in the ass.” Oberon said, giving her what I can only assume was a dirty look.

“It’s alright, Valkyr.” Loki said, putting a hand gently on her shoulder, and she seemed to relax a bit. “I’m sure the Lotus has a... _ reason  _ for wanting him.”

_ Wait. _

__ They didn’t know what was going on either?  _ And they  _ **worked** _ for her?  _ It took gathering the entirety of my remaining dignity not to scream. Could this get any worse?

“Let’s just get him out of here before someone catches on to what we’re doing.” Excalibur advised, coming up between the two. Loki gave him an annoyed look, but said nothing. “That is, if anyone would even come for him in the first place. As far as I know, he’s not doing too hot with the Corpus right now.”

“You don’t have to rub it in, you know.” I said, trying not to grind my teeth.

“S-sorry, I just-”

“He’s just trying to get under your skin, Excalibur. Trust me, I know. I’m a master of that.” Loki interjected, patting him on the shoulder. “He’s trying to heal his wounded ego, nothing more.”

_ Oh, if only you knew what  _ other  _ wounds I’m trying to heal.  _

__ The group seemed to fall silent after that, and so I was left to chew up my thoughts while Oberon dragged me around like an inconvenient corpse. I didn’t complain much. After all, there wasn’t really anything I could do to make the situation better, so I figured the best option was to come quietly, lest I get a blade in my face, or worse, Valkyr.

It didn’t happen, however. Things were relatively peaceful, right up to extraction. I got a glimpse of Oberon’s plant-filled orbiter before I passed out, either from fear, or sleep deprivation. I honestly couldn’t tell you which.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<>{◇}<>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up feeling more tired than before I passed out. Just like normal, so the only unusual thing was the where. The light was dim, and my back was stiff as a board. I was there for ages, and it gave me plenty of time to think.

Looking around, I was being held in a small cell, barely big enough for one. So, I really was a captive to the Tenno. It could always be worse. I was rapidly running out of factions to jump to when I fucked up, and as far as factions went, the Tenno were better than the Grineer or the Sentients, surely.

Right?

There weren’t reports of them torturing their victims, or experimenting on them. In fact, there were no reports at all. So that was either good or bad, depending. Also, there was the fact that I was fairly certain that nobody would be coming to rescue me, as I was in pretty hot water with the Corpus, with Neffy and Frohd actively tearing apart the little I had left like the vicious piranhas they both were. So, to recap: no clue what I was doing here, no hints as to why I was wanted, and no reason to believe I’d be saved. A whole lot of nothing. But then, this wasn’t the first time, but oh how I wished it was the last. I was getting pretty damn sick of being tossed out on my ass with less than when I started.

After all, it seemed to be the thing I was best at. Certainly, I had a massive amount of scientific skill, but my ability for getting kicked out of factions was incredible. Either that, or being abducted into them. 

It had occurred to me that they could just be waiting to kill me. But, that wouldn’t make any sense. If the Lotus had wanted me dead, I had no doubt that I would be. Why bring me here, wherever  _ here _ was, if they were simply going to kill me? Make a spectacle out of it? I had been responsible for some rather nasty things that happened to their friends, so it would be understandable. But logical? Not really.

But...stranger things had happened. 

I let these less than pleasant thoughts wear grooves in my head while my stumps itched like mad under my prosthetics, wondering what the hell I’d gotten into this time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<>{◇}<>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You scream like Titania in her fairy form, you know that?” said a familiar voice, and I somehow managed to hear it over the pounding of my heart.

Apparently thinking in circles had sent me straight back to sleep, only for me to be awoken by the feeling of something burning hot and sharp poking my neck. That something turned out to be claws. Valkyr’s claws, to be specific. 

“Put yourself in my position, you’d scream too!” I shot back.

“I’ve already been in a similar position, Alad.” she purred, jabbing me a bit harder. “Thanks to you, in fact. What an interesting coincidence, don’t you think?” Her voice was dripping with malice.

“What do you want?” I asked, trying to not sound as terrified as I felt. “I thought you said we were even after you shredded me!”

“I did say that, but then, I thought you were going to die from that. Now you’re here, and I can’t kill you because the Lotus wants you for something, so now I have to restrain myself and  _ not  _ cut you to ribbons,” she growled, breaking my skin and drawing small beads of blood.

At this point, I was almost sure she was going to slit my throat regardless of the Lotus’s orders. “I didn’t kill you, either! How could we  _ not  _ be even?!” I shrieked, trying to pull away.

“We are, and that bugs me.” She released me, crossing her arms. “I mean, I’ve dedicated so much time to hunting your pale, skinny ass down and kicking it, and with all that effort spent, I think I deserve more time doing it, but nooo, the Lotus is just going to stand in front of that goal and have the audacity to give that motherly smile of hers.”

“Wait, so she does want me for something?” I asked, scooting backwards and putting my back to the cell wall, out of her reach. 

“Pfft, you think she’d tell me? Personally, I’m hoping she wants to publicly execute you, but that’s more of a pipe dream than anything.”

“W-why are you even here? Just to taunt me? Look, if you think anything you do to me here is worse than what I’ve already been through, you are  _ sorely  _ mistaken.”

“I”m just here to warn you. Try anything,  _ anything,  _ and I swear I’ll draw and quarter you, then feed your pieces to Claudius,” she hissed. “I’ll make you absolutely miserable without a second thought, so watch your step. Oh, and watch out for Limbo. He wants to take a chunk out of you for what you did to Mesa.”

“Why!?”

“She’s his girlfriend.” Valkyr said pointedly.

“That would do it I suppose. Wait, girlfriend?” I asked, confused, and it slowly dawned on me what might have been my biggest mistake when dealing with Warframes; underestimating how, for lack of a better term,  _ human  _ they were. Valkyr just sighed.

“Yes, girlfriend. In any case, he wants to shove his Destraza Prime up your nose, so just be careful, ok? I don’t want anyone else to get at you when you inevitably fuck it all up and we kick you out again. After that, you’re  _ all  _ mine.” she purred at the thought, actual purring like a kavat.

“What? What do you mean ‘inevitably fuck it all up’? I can’t fuck up anything if I don’t even know what I’m here for.” I spat, trying not to let the offense show too much.

“You change loyalties like Chroma changes his prices, come on. No matter how much you warp it, you’ll always be that same old Alad. You’re stagnant, like Saryn. You’ll never change, you  _ can’t  _ change, you’ll always be this slimy, evil little man. But you’ll run out of factions soon, and then what are you going to do?”

“You…” I stopped, realizing I had nothing to say. “Just get out of here.”

“Oooh, someone’s getting pissy. Fine, but don’t say I never warned you, ok?” she cooed, and if it wouldn’t have gotten me killed I might have punched her.

“Just leave.” I said, keeping my voice as emotionless as possible.

She gave me a smug little wave over her shoulder as she left, locking the door behind her. 

As if I needed more reasons to regret my interactions with her all those years ago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<>{◇}<>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Valkyr, it was a constant string of Warframes who wanted to ogle me, and let me tell you it got  _ very  _ tiring after a while. Regardless, I’ll give you the highlights.

First was Umbra, whom I recognized by his iconic scar over the left side of his face, and the many security tapes of him wreaking absolute havoc. He glared at me like I was something slimy and unpleasant that had just slithered out of a biohazard disposal bin.

“You move a toe out of line and I’ll cut your head off, understand?” 

I nodded. “Yeah, yeah, heard it all from Valkyr. She acts a lot like you, you know. Any relation?” 

“Warframes don’t have ‘relations’, unlike you Corpus,” he said, jabbing a finger at me.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing. Fine, go be lonely in a corner and leave me be, for the love of the Void.” I responded, already sick of him. Umbra looked like he wanted to tear my arm off and slap me with it, but he left.

Before I could take a breath, a tall frame wearing what looked to be a tophat walked in. “Though I suspect you have already heard this from others, I will remove your limbs and feed them to you if you so much as sneeze in Mesa’s direction.”

“That’s gonna make it real hard to fix her, I must say.”

The black, white and gold frame was taken aback. “I...what?”

“I still have some anti-Infested juice leftover from when I had to cure myself.” I said slowly, unsure of how he would respond. “I can give it to her. Well, not right now obviously, since if I try anything your Lotus might drown me, but the offer still stands.”

“I….I’ll agree to it, and I’ll just hope the Lotus does too.” He nodded, then turned and left. I made a mental note that Limbo seemed to care far more about Mesa than he did about boxing my ears. 

It was a minute or two before a pair of frames came in. Chroma and Titania, as I learned later, the latter in her faerie form and clinging to his horn for dear life, fluttering her little wings. 

“So, this is the Corpus who gave Valkyr so much trouble? I must say, I expected worse. You certainly don’t look the part.” said Titania.

“Of what?” I asked, keeping my contempt at bay, because, y’know, I was the one locked away. 

“The part of evil genius who doesn’t care about anyone but himself,” she replied, glaring. “You look...how do I put this nice...kind of pathetic.”

“Titania, be nice.” Chroma chastised, gently patting her tiny head. “You don’t want to give him an excuse to jump ship and run into the arms of some other faction, if there even is one he’d want to go to.” He turned to me. “Ignore her, she’s very cute but not very bright.”

“Alright, so what do  _ you  _ two want, pray tell?” I asked, getting fed up with these two as well. 

“We just wanted to come see the little Corpus assh-” Titania started, before Chroma picked her off his horn.

“ _ Titania! _ ” 

“Am I wrong though? I mean, he’s our enemy, and unlike Neffy, he’s close enough to skin alive.”

Chroma sighed. “Titania, you can’t just go around saying that. Lotus probably wants him for something, and so he must remain alive.”

“Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh, fiiiine. You’re no fun.” she said, perching herself on top of his head. 

After they left, I had a good hour before the next thrice-damned Warframe graced me with his presence. Nezha, to be precise. 

I’m not someone who has ever wanted to hurt a child, but let me tell you, I would have thrown hands with this little shit for free. 

“So, when did you decide on a career with the Tenno?” he asked, sarcasm filling his voice.

“When your mother kidnapped me,” I replied, my mood slowly worsening. “When did the Orokin decide to make a half-sized child a Warframe? You would think there’d at least be a height requirement.”

Nezha stopped. “Hey, I’m the one throwing jokes here.” 

“Listen kid, I have been getting pestered by Warframes all day, and my brain is leaking out of my ears. I refuse to take it from a  _ child. _ ” I turned away, facing the other wall. 

“Hey! I am  _ not _ a-”   


He was interrupted by Wukong walking in, grabbing him, and dragging him out backwards, all without a word, from him at least. Nezha flailed and yelled like an angry kavat the whole time. Fortunately, it didn’t last long, and I was left alone once again. Not forever though.

I immediately recognized Excalibur from my unscheduled exit from the Corpus. 

“You!”

He nodded. “Yep, me. Wanted to see how you’re getting along. I uh...well I can’t imagine it was all that pleasant being dragged here.” 

“No, it was not.” I hissed. “Aside from that, now I’ve basically been put on display to be stared at and threatened by every Warframe in the system!” 

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry about that. I tried to talk them out of it. I mean, you’re not  _ that  _ interesting...sorry, uh, what I meant is, you’re not anything new. Everyone knows you, so I don’t see why they’d come.”

“You don’t see why? Let me explain it to you.” I paused, taking a deep breath and glaring at him. “Look, it’s simple. I’m hated, for one, which explains the threats and posturing. Secondly, rumor travels fast, and you should have known it wouldn’t be long before the others realized that the one who tortured Valkyr, intentions aside, is now in their midst. I don’t blame them for wanting to take a look, as  _ enraging _ as it is.” 

“Yeah, that makes sense. I know you’re probably sick of this by now, but can I ask you something?”

“Do you have to?” 

He paused, then shook his head. “It can wait, if you’d rather not.”

“I’d rather not.” I said, my patience having worn about as thin as Nef’s skin at this point.

“R-right, sorry. Uh...I hope things work out for you this time.” And fuck him, he sounded like he meant it. 

“What do you mean ‘this time’?” I asked, eyes narrowing. 

“I mean...your track record hasn’t been great lately, has it?” he asked.

“And what makes you think that it’s any of your business?” I stood, facing him. “It’s not like I’ve had any control over what happened, anyway.” 

Excalibur’s reply was cut off by the Void child jumping out of his chest and coming nose to nose with me. I recognized him from the one time him and his metal friend came to ransake my labs for parts, and said child, Kallic, roundhouse kicked me in the solar plexus so hard I thought I’d left this plane of reality for a moment. He didn’t look that much different from the last time I’d seen him; pale, a swirling, painful looking scar over his right eye, short red hair, green eyes. The only thing that had changed was the glass mask in front of his face, and sharp looking glass earpiece.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve,” he said. “Excalibur’s trying to be  _ nice  _ to you, which is far more than you deserve, and this is how you act?” he said, the Amp on his wrist starting to glow a bit.

“Well  _ excuse  _ me for being here against my will!” I shot back.

“Than makes it worse! You can’t just bite every offered hand, or you’ll be out of here too! Then what-” he was cut off by Excalibur stepping in front of him.

“I appreciate the thought, kid.” He said, his voice almost tender. “But now isn’t the time to start fights, alright?”

Kallic sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Sorry.”

Excalibur gave me an odd look before putting an arm around his Operator’s shoulder and taking his leave.

I had one last visitor before the day was over, and before I could really chew through all my encounters. 

“I guess all your time being a fair weather ally has come back to bite you, eh?” Oberon asked, trying to joke. His tone wasn’t malicious, and I decided to cut him some slack. That, and I knew him by reputation, and he was not someone to be snappy at. 

“Seems it did. Why does your Lotus think this is a good idea?” I asked, just wanting some answers.

“I don’t know. She hasn’t said anything to anyone, just told us to grab you. If I had to guess, I’d say she’s tired of dealing with you. Er...that came out worse than intended.” He paused. “What I mean is that you’re rather...fickle. If you’re with her, she can be sure to steer your skills towards helping us, instead of sticking thorns in our side.”

“And not helping the Corpus or something equally unpleasant, right?” 

“Exactly.” he nodded.

“Jokes on her, the Corpus don’t want me. Actually, your faction is probably the last one that’ll take me in.” I said, trying not to sound too desperate.

“That’s...most likely true, yes. In any case, if you want my advice, you’d do well to actually try and make a good impression. I’m sure you’re smart enough to see the benefits of that.” He said, tabbing the butt of his Bo prime against the wall rhythmically.

“I…” I heaved a sigh. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

He gave me an approving nod. “Good, you know where you stand. I’ll leave you be, then. Get some rest, you’re going to need it.”

And with that, he was gone with a whirl of his cape, leaving me alone with my thoughts.


	3. Unfortunate Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An orphan in Fortuna with no value

As much as it made Excalibur happy to see Kallic’s excited gait as they wandered through the neon maze of Fortuna, his mind was on the other task he had to complete here. He didn’t know why he expected to find anything about Alad here. There was no indication, either from the man himself or the current dossier they had on him, but something made him want to look. Maybe it was just his gut. Regardless, he was here now, and he might as well make the best of it.

“You’re really popular here.” Kallic complimented after Excalibur exchanged a cheery greeting with yet another citizen. 

“Yeah, kinda.” He rubbed the back of his neck with pleased embarrassment. “I spend a lot of time here.”

“Why, what do you do here?” the operator asked.

“Helping whoever needs it, mostly. Sometimes, though, Oberon gives me a few more pointers in playing the Shawzin he gave me.”

“I don’t think he’s been giving you enough of them.” Kallic teased.

Excalibur sighed. “I’m not  _ that  _ bad, come on.” 

“Alright fine. You’re worse.”

“Kallic!” He groaned.

His operator laughed, and Excalibur just ruffled his bright red hair. It was good to be out like this, even with his secondary task pinching the back of his brain.

“You seem distracted.” Kallic said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Do you have something else to do here?”

“Yeah, actually.” Excalibur took a look around the place. “As much as I enjoy seeing you lose it over cosmetic items, I’ve got...business here, let’s say.”

“Come on, you can’t just leave me hanging like that,” Kallic said with mock severity and genuine excitement. “What is it?” 

Excalibur looked around before informing him in a low voice. “I want to see if I can dig up some information on Alad.”

“ _ What?! _ ” The operator took a glance around, then pulled in closer to the frame, speaking quietly. “How are you so sure that you’ll find something  _ here _ , of all places? Shouldn’t you be looking, I don’t know, somewhere among the Corpus?” 

“This  _ is  _ the Corpus,” Excalibur explained, sighing. “I know it sounds absurd, but I got the idea yesterday, and my gut’s been pushing me towards it. I mean, Alad’s been here for a week now, and he hasn’t spat out much of anything. He’s a question wrapped in a mystery tied in an enigma.”

“Okaaay,” Kallic said, dragging the word out. “But how does any of that point here?” 

“He said one thing about this place. He said ‘I don’t want to end up here ever again’. That was to mean something.”

Kallic was silent for a moment, then nodded. “So, where should we look first?” 

“We’re going straight to the top.” Excalibur pointed out a figure surrounded by people. “I’m going to ask Eudico herself. Either her, or someone else has gotta have the records of the people of this place.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Kallic jumped and grabbed his frame by the wrist, tugging him forward. “Let’s go already!”

The frame grabbed his operator’s wrist, holding him back. “We can’t just ask her in front of everyone, especially if she doesn’t know anything! We’ve got to get her alone.” 

“So we just ask her to come to the back rooms for a moment.” he said with a shrug. “Not hard.”

Excalibur shrugged back. “That works for me. Just don’t go running up to her and shouting everything, okay?” 

“I won’t, now let’s go already!”

The frame nodded, and they pushed their way through the crowd. “Eudico!” Excalibur shouted, waving an arm, gesturing for her to come over. She looked up and waved back before setting her massive welding gun down and making her way towards them.

“Nice to see you ‘round again, Sparky.” she greeted warmly, walking him away from the small gathering so they could hear each other. She gave the operator a look-over. “Who’s this?” 

“This is Kallic, my operator. Kallic, Eidico.”

“Copy that. Nice to meet you, kiddo.” she said, holding out a hand. Kallic shook it. “What brings you to my little corner of Fortuna? I’m assumin’ you got things other than work on your mind, since you wanted me alone?” 

“We wanted to know about Fortuna’s dossier collection, if you have access to it, or know someone who does.” Excalibur said, looking around to make sure nobody was in earshot.

“Well, that depends,” she said, hands on her hips. “What do you want it for?” 

“How do I put this?” he said slowly. “Lotus kidnaped Alad V, and I want to know...something,  _ anything  _ about him. He hinted at having lived here at one point, so here I am.”

“Oi, she did...she did what now? I’m hearin’ you correctly, yeah?” she asked.

Kallic nodded. “He’s sitting in custody in a cell, at the moment. Also I kicked him in the ribs once.”

“Good job, kiddo.” Eudico patted him on the shoulder before discreetly leading them away to the Backroom.

Once inside, Eudico gestured around at the various people, introducing them each in turn to Kallic. "That's Biz, with the brickhead, Legs, in case you missed him. And in the corner being edgy is Little Duck." 

“C’mon Eudi, my head’s not that brickish. I-is it?” Biz asked with a nervous laugh.

“A little.” Legs said. “But it’s not like that’s unique.”

Little Duck walked up to the frame and operator, eyeing them both. “Enough chit-chat, why’d you escort these two?” 

"They wanted to go through the records, see if they could find some dirt on one Alad V," Eudico said matter-of-factly, drawing gasps from the others.

“Excalibur, you know we trust you, but...may I ask why?” Biz questioned, swiveling his head to look at the Warframe, who was tapping his sharp-cleated foot nervously.

“Lotus has him in her custody now. She wants something from him. What, I don’t know, but he’s...well, we know nothing about him. He doesn’t talk much about himself, but he did mention he lived here, once at least, and if he did.” Excalibur gave an exasperated sigh before continuing.“I figured there might have been a record,  _ something  _ that could shed some light on him. Technically Oberon asked me to do it, but I have to admit, I’m curious as well.”

“We just wanna see Alad’s record if he has one. We won’t even go back there if you don’t want us to, just grab it and let us scan it real quick.” Kallic added.

Everyone was quiet for a while before Biz spoke up again. “It sounds alright to me.”

Little Duck seemed almost eager to let them at it. “I never would’ve even thought about it. Who knows what we could get on ‘im. Let ‘em at it.”

“I’m kinda curious as to what he might’ve been like, I won’t lie.” Legs confessed after a moment.

“Right then, if that’s settled.” Eudico said with an air of finality. She disappeared into a door in the back of the backroom.

Little Duck looked after her for a moment, then turned back. “Didn’t happen to bring some crackers, did ya?” she asked sarcastically. “It might be a while.” 

Excalibur nodded, leaning back against a wall. Biz leaned back over the table with Legs. Kallic looked around at the four of them. 

“You guys are no fun,” he said before sitting and bringing his knees to his chest. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<>{◇}<>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Euidco finally came back, a tablet in her hand.

“I didn’t believe it when I saw it, but it’s real, somehow.” she said, offering to Excalibur, who took it and switched it on.

“Well? Is it him?” Kallic asked, standing on his toes to see it because Excalibur was holding it up too high.

It was indeed Alad on the screen, but...different. Staring back at them was a young boy with dull, sad silver eyes, messy, light brown hair, and a gaunt face, dressed in the same clothing as most children on Fortuna wore, aside from the Ventkids. 

“He’s...he’s just a child.” Excalibur said finally, his voice unable to hide his shock.

“He looks even younger than me...this means he was here, right?” Kallic asked, turning to Eudico. She nodded.

“If he’s got a plate like this, means he lived here at some point. Judgin’ by the photo, for quite a long time as well.” she confirmed.

“Read it Excal, what’s it say?” Kallic asked his frame eagerly.

“Uh...I am reading it. It says nothing. Just physical attributes and familial relationships. No, wait, that spot says ‘N/A’. So...nothing. What is he, a ghost?” Excalibur questioned.

“Might as well be,” Little Duck interjected, cocking her head to one side as she casually longued against a wall. “Plenty of muckers like him. No history, no family, they just exist and take up space. Or, in his case, waste it. Sure, he looks like a pitiful orphan here, but don’t forget what he grew up into.”

“It seems like he was completely alone...maybe that’s  _ why  _ he turned into what he did,” Excalibur retorted, surprised he was jumping to the scientists’s defense. "I can't imagine what that would be like for someone that young. Having absolutely no one."

Little Duck let out a grunt, unconvinced. “Havin’ survival skills don’t translate to bein’ a royal asshole.” 

“It’s not about survival skills, it’s about the environment he was in,” Excalibur explained. “He had to care about himself first because his survival depended on it. He can’t be blamed for keeping that trait when he got older. Nobody taught him otherwise. Trust me, I know what being an asshole for the sake of it looks like.”   


Biz nodded. “There is a difference. Take Nef Anyo as an example. He grew up with a family, after all, and still ended up much the same way as Alad. Lacking the spine, however,” he amended.

“They’re both jerks, just in different ways,” Kallic added.

Legs nodded, hopping restlessly. “What Neffy lacks in backbone, though, he makes up for in the wallet.” 

“Maybe that’s why they hate each other so much.” Excalibur mused. “You weren’t there when we had to go snatch something from Tyl Regor, but they were at each other’s throats over the comms the whole time.”

“Just like them,” Eudico agreed. “Can’t agree over which way to slice a pickle, let alone anything more than that.” She paused for a moment, turning to Excalibur. “Mind if I have a look at him?” 

“Oh, sure,” he said, holding out the datapad to her. 

She looked at it and seemed to freeze in place, just staring at it. After an extended silence, Little Duck spoke up. 

“Spit it out, Boss. What’s got your tongue?”

“ _ That was Alad the whole time?!” _ she finally said, staring holes in the datapad. 

“Apparently so,” Excalibur confirmed. “Does he mean something to you?” 

“I knew him! From before I mean.”

Everyone turned to look at her. 

“What do you mean, you knew him, Eudico?” Biz asked finally. 

“When he was like this,” she rapped the tablet with her knuckles. “I’d see him scuttlin’ around like a stray animal, and sometimes when I caught him stealin’ ration cans, I’d turn a blind eye. I was pretty young, so my memory is spotty, but it’s him.” 

“Just how old are you, Eudico?” Legs wondered. 

She shot him a look. “Old enough. Look, I can’t say what happened to him, or where he went, but I know this pic is of him.” 

“That’s all well and good, but there’s still one thing that hasn’t been cleared up. If Oberon is the one who wanted this info, why not let him come himself?” Little Duck interrogated, giving Excalibur and Kallic a pointed glare.

“Uh...well…” The Warframe rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not sure how to say this without sounding crazy. When Oberon brought it up, I volunteered to go get it for him, because I have my own questions about him that have nothing to do with Fortuna.”

Little Duck crossed her arms. “And that would be...?”

“Hunhow called him something kinda weird, that’s all,” he finished.

“ _ That’s all?”  _ Little Duck sounded scandalized. “ _ The  _ Space Crab calls Alad a funny name?”

“Yeah. He called him Orokin.”

That brought her up short. The whole room went quiet as a coffin and Eudico dropped the tablet in shock. “He called him  _ what now _ ?”


	4. No Legs to Stand On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alad V the legless parrot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS HAS NOT BEEN BETA READ!
> 
> Apologies, but I just can't wait any longer. I'll let y'all know if I'm gonna delete it and post the redone version :3

And thus truly begins the Saga of the Disaster Scientist, A.K.A. me. 

The next several days were mostly quiet, which I was rather grateful for. Obviously, no Warframes bothering me was a blessing, but aside from that, it gave me time to rest and be alone to process everything.

Without the constant interruption from the frames, I was able to focus on my current situation. I knew by now that nobody would be coming for me, and that I wasn’t going to be publicly tortured and put to death. In fact, I probably wasn’t going to be hurt in any way. But, where did that leave me? Still relatively helpless, all things considered, for one very annoying reason.

I couldn’t walk.

The bout I’d had with the Infestation had taken both of my legs to some degree, the left on up to the knee, the right up to mid thigh, as well as three fourths of my right arm. The latter prosthetic was getting along just fine with no issues. My legs, however…

I was unable to balance on the prosthetics I’d made. Being as I didn’t have any muscles down there, I had no corrective movement. I had intended to gain the use of them through therapy, but I was taken before I had the opportunity. And thus, I was left unable to walk for the meantime. Essentially? I was as helpless as a newborn, which was not a position I enjoyed being in, and it wasn’t one I intended to let any of them know I was in either. I mean, if they knew I couldn’t get away, who knew what they’d do? I considered myself very lucky none of them had found out yet.

I couldn’t train with them for fear of someone finding out and spreading the word, and so I simply didn’t use them. It was frustrating, especially because I wouldn’t be able to leave until I knew what the Lotus wanted me there for. Aside from that, the damn cell was too small for anything substantial. It drove me nuts.

A few more days passed, each indistinguishable from one another. I woke up, sat and did nothing, then went to sleep (even if it was sleep I’d desperately needed). I wondered if the Lotus was doing this on purpose, to break my spirit or something. I wasn't sure why she was bothering, seeing as it was already broken, but I digress. I wasn’t doing much, just sitting around and occasionally fiddling with the door out of sheer boredom.

Then it opened.

I pulled it shut quickly, but I realized the last idiot who came in here had most likely forgotten to lock it behind them. In the end, it didn’t really matter that much, I reasoned to myself. I was still stuck here without a way to get back to my lab. 

But the door was unlocked. 

I took a few slow, deep breaths, and tried to think about the situation rationally. I couldn’t walk, and even if I could, I wouldn’t be able to make it to the docking station, not with so many Warframes around. But outside meant more space, and more space meant I had more room to move, more room to teach myself to walk again.

More room to stop being helpless.

I decided to risk it. It wasn’t my fault the door had been left open, and besides, if anyone caught me, I’d probably already be on the floor. 

After taking a moment to steady myself, I worked my way over to the door, and gently nudged it open.

The relay was empty and silent, which was exactly what I needed. That way nobody was around to see me fall on my ass like a colt trying to stand up on his long, spindly legs. I didn’t have much, but I did have my pride still, and I would have rather been immobile then have a pack of Warframes laughing at me. I pulled off my boots so the bare metal of my prosthetics tapped against the floor, and slipped out as quietly as I could.

Now, just because I couldn’t walk, doesn’t mean I couldn’t move. I could do this extremely ungraceful shuffling hop while holding onto ledges and railings, which was both ridiculous and impractical, but it got the job done, and I managed to drag myself to a relatively clear floor where the only thing I was likely to trip over was myself.

“Right, so that’s done. Now what?” I said to nobody in particular, but it helped to fill the eerie silence of the empty relay. I figured I should probably be able to stand up without clinging to anything before I could even think about walking. It was a place to start at least.

I put my back to the wall and slowly pushed up on the railing, away from the wall. In the moment it felt a little like leaving the shelf of a landmass when you’re underwater, going into complete open ocean with nothing to stand on. Losing a safety net. Still, I had to start somewhere. My legs shook like mad, but at least I hadn’t fallen yet. I slowly let go of the bar.

And toppled straight back to the floor. I sighed. This was going to be a long night.

It was a process, slowly clambering to my feet, gripping the railing until the knuckles of my real hand turned white, then carefully letting go and counting the seconds until I lost my balance, over and over again. I learned it was more about technique than strength, and adjusted accordingly. Slowly, I started to improve. It wasn’t much, granted, but it was better than nothing.

And yet it still grated on me.

I hated it. I’d only just started, but I already hated it, everything about this whole mess of a situation I was in. I had no control over anything that happened, let alone why I’d been kidnapped and brought here. I hated being crippled, I hated how my life had become this...mess. The next time I fell, I honest to the Lotus felt like I just didn’t have the will to get up again. Why keep trying when I was only going to get knocked back down, both literally and figuratively? 

I scrubbed my eyes, and felt something wet on my bare arm. I looked down to realize that I’d been crying. I hurriedly dashed the back of my hand across my eyes, ashamed. 

“Are you alright?” 

I nearly jumped out of my skin, which would’ve been quite bad considering I needed it.

I scuttled around on the ground to come nose-to-crotch with Oberon. I looked up to see him gazing down at me, with what I can only assume was concern under his helmet. He certainly sounded like that, at least. 

“No, I am  _ not _ .” I hissed, wiping my eyes again and feeling very foolish.

He crouched down at my side. “What’s wrong? Aside from you being on the floor, I mean.”

“I…” I stopped. How could I explain that I wasn’t trying to escape?

“It seems like you’re having trouble staying upright,” he said, holding out a hand. 

“How long were you watching me?” I asked, reaching up but decided against taking his hand, instead running my hand through my hair.

“Long enough.” he replied gently, sitting next to me. “Mind telling me what’s going on? Maybe I can help.” 

“Isn’t it obvious?” I asked him, trying and failing to keep the despair out of my voice. “I can’t fucking walk and I’ve been kidnapped into a faction of people who despise me and-or want me  _ dead _ . I don’t see how things could get much worse.”

Oberon said nothing for a moment, a hand on his chin. “None of us know why you’re here, either. The Lotus has been busy, and though I don’t doubt that she has a plan, she hasn’t communicated anything about it to anyone.” 

“Well, isn’t that just  _ great? _ ” I grumbled, pushing myself up onto my hands and knees. 

“I’m sorry. It’s quite unfair of her to leave you dangling like this. I can’t imagine what it’s doing to your head, being stuck in that tiny cell with nothing.” He paused for a moment, cocking his head. “What have you even been doing in there?”

“It’s actually not bad. I get to catch up on all the sleep I lost when I got Infested.” I said, only semi-sarcastically. “Then, when the excitement of that wears off, I do some sitting and have an existential crisis.” 

Oberon said nothing for a long time, and he simply turned away and stared into the distance. Finally, he spoke. “Would you like some company?” 

“Why?” I swiveled to look at him. “Why the hell would a Warframe want anything to do with me?” 

“To keep you from a downward spiral,” he said eventually, not meeting my gaze. “To keep the past from holding the future a hostage.” 

“That’s...interesting,” I said after a moment, not really sure how to feel. “And I suppose not waking up tomorrow is out of the question?” 

**_“Yes.”_ ** He replied, his tone turning deathly serious, and when he finally turned to look at me, I felt the weight of his gaze. “That is  _ absolutely _ not going to happen.”

I stared at him for a solid five minutes before the awkwardness overwhelmed me, and my gaze fell to the floor.

“I could help teach you to walk if you’d like.” The frame offered, giving me a look that I guessed was pity.

“Why do you care?” I asked finally. 

“Because, quite frankly, I believe you can be better than what you are.” he said bluntly, and yet by some witchcraft he managed to make it sound...kind.

I decided to see where this might lead. So shoot me, I was in a bad position. “Alright, so what do you suggest we do, then?” I asked grudgingly.

Oberon stood, holding out his hand once more. “First, let me help you up. After that, I’m going to teach you to walk again, and try and get you some answers.” 

I let out a heavy sigh. “Let’s get this over with, then.” 


End file.
